OKI Data Americas (Irving, TX) announced today that effective March 31, 2021, OKI Data Americas will no longer distribute printer hardware under the OKI brand to the North, Central and South American markets. This includes all LED-based single and multifunction, as well as dot-matrix (SIDM), printer hardware, per the announcement from the company.
“This year OKI embarked on a new three-year mid-term plan that would reposition our company for sustained growth and long-term profitability by shifting our focus from a transactional selling approach to value-added sales and service delivery,” said Sergio Horikawa, president and CEO, OKI Data Americas. “Although we made significant progress in the execution of this plan, considerable shifts in printer market demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to reevaluate our ability to achieve the mid-term plan. After assessment by our management teams in the Americas and Japan, it has been determined that a new path forward is required resulting in today’s announcement.”
OKI Data, or selected partners, will continue to provide consumables, parts, and warranty services to the Americas markets as required by relevant countries and states to effectively support its current installation base, again, per the company. OKI will continue to work with its distribution partners to forecast, purchase and fulfill shipments to maintain inventory levels that meet on-going market demand.
“I want to reassure our resellers, partners and end customers that OKI is committed to continuing to provide the necessary consumables, parts and service to keep our printers operational for years to come,” said Horikawa. This announcement impacts the Americas market only. OKI’s domestic (Japan) and other overseas markets will maintain their current business course and strategy. Global OEM arrangements and the distribution of specific value-added product lines, that impact the Americas, will be directly managed by OKI Data Corporation in Japan.
For more information, visit oki.com/us.